Malware, phishing, spam, viruses, and worms. All these terms have become part of the lingo in the daily life of computer and internet users. Ignorance is not bliss in this case, it's plain technical suicide.
The absolute majority of home computer users have, some time or other, faced such threats, and knowing how to deal with them is the best way to make the most out of your computer.
"Malware" is a general term coined for all forms malicious software and is typically used as a catch-all term to refer to any software designed to cause damage to a single computer, server, or computer network. Such software usually takes the form of viruses, spyware or a Trojan horse (a good-looking file hosting a virus).
While two of the biggest concerns for computer users today are viruses and spyware it is possible to defend yourself against them fairly easily with a little bit of planning.
Some simple and free ways to do this are to ensure that all the software on your computer is up-to-date, including the operating system, as well as installed applications; only download updates from reliable and trustworthy sources; and installing or using a firewall to keep intrusions into your computer.
For Windows operating systems, the latest official updates are available at http://update.microsoft.com/, and some of them are usually critical or very important for the computer's safety. Windows Update, a free service built into Windows, is designed to help users keep their PC more secure, reliable, compatible with devices, and able to run new features that may enhance your experience. Downloading and installing can be automatic and is not disruptive as it happens in the background the user can still make full use of the computer. If a re-start is necessary, this can be postponed to a later time.
"Be careful what you install," insists Karl Davies-Barrett, Microsoft developer platform evangelist for Malta and Cyprus. "Always think before you install something, weigh the risks and benefits and be aware of any 'fine print' side effects. Does the lengthy license agreement that you don't want to read conceal a warning that you are about to install spyware?"
Another potential threat to a computer is "phishing", the practice of distributing and publishing e-mail messages and websites that are designed to look like those of legitimate businesses, financial institutions, and government agencies in order to deceive internet users, usually for criminal purposes. Unfortunately i-Tech is informed that some Maltese internet users have fallen victim to phishing in recent months. This has prompted local organisations, especially banks, to issue warnings not to send personal information by e-mail.
Almost all phishing attacks are propagated through unsolicited e-mail messages. In fact, phishing is the fastest growing segment of spam being sent worldwide. It is also one of the most invasive, deceiving victims into disclosing sensitive information such as name, address, phone number, password, Social Security number, and financial information.
In many phishing scams, a deceptive e-mail message directs victims to a deceptive Web site that has been established only to collect a user's personally identifiable information. This type of information can then be used for criminal activity such as identity theft.
To help detect and prevent personal data theft Microsoft has developed a multi-layered defense of dynamic technologies against phishing both in e-mail and with our browser technology to combat this challenge.
The first layer is at the source in e-mail with SmartScreen filtering and new warning features in Windows Live Mail, MSN Hotmail, Microsoft Office Outlook 2003/2007 and Microsoft Exchange server 2003 SP2 and 2007.
In cooperation with others in the industry, Microsoft is promoting e-mail authentication technologies such as the Sender ID Framework, which helps confirm whether a message is indeed coming from the sender it claims to. MSN and Windows Live Hotmail currently use Sender ID, and Exchange Server 2003 Service Pack 2 (SP2) and 2007 provide support for publishing and checking Sender ID records.
The second layer of protection against Phishing is the new innovative Microsoft Phishing Filter now in use by over 100 million users who have downloaded Internet Explorer 7 and the new Windows Live Toolbar.
The new version of Internet Explorer, still in beta but due for release soon, has some important privacy functions. InPrivate browsing in Internet Explorer 8 helps prevent the browsing history, temporary Internet files, form data, cookies, and usernames and passwords from being retained by the browser, leaving no evidence of your browsing or search history.
This article was written with the support of Microsoft Malta.
The absolute majority of home computer users have, some time or other, faced such threats, and knowing how to deal with them is the best way to make the most out of your computer.
"Malware" is a general term coined for all forms malicious software and is typically used as a catch-all term to refer to any software designed to cause damage to a single computer, server, or computer network. Such software usually takes the form of viruses, spyware or a Trojan horse (a good-looking file hosting a virus).
While two of the biggest concerns for computer users today are viruses and spyware it is possible to defend yourself against them fairly easily with a little bit of planning.
Some simple and free ways to do this are to ensure that all the software on your computer is up-to-date, including the operating system, as well as installed applications; only download updates from reliable and trustworthy sources; and installing or using a firewall to keep intrusions into your computer.
For Windows operating systems, the latest official updates are available at http://update.microsoft.com/, and some of them are usually critical or very important for the computer's safety. Windows Update, a free service built into Windows, is designed to help users keep their PC more secure, reliable, compatible with devices, and able to run new features that may enhance your experience. Downloading and installing can be automatic and is not disruptive as it happens in the background the user can still make full use of the computer. If a re-start is necessary, this can be postponed to a later time.
"Be careful what you install," insists Karl Davies-Barrett, Microsoft developer platform evangelist for Malta and Cyprus. "Always think before you install something, weigh the risks and benefits and be aware of any 'fine print' side effects. Does the lengthy license agreement that you don't want to read conceal a warning that you are about to install spyware?"
Another potential threat to a computer is "phishing", the practice of distributing and publishing e-mail messages and websites that are designed to look like those of legitimate businesses, financial institutions, and government agencies in order to deceive internet users, usually for criminal purposes. Unfortunately i-Tech is informed that some Maltese internet users have fallen victim to phishing in recent months. This has prompted local organisations, especially banks, to issue warnings not to send personal information by e-mail.
Almost all phishing attacks are propagated through unsolicited e-mail messages. In fact, phishing is the fastest growing segment of spam being sent worldwide. It is also one of the most invasive, deceiving victims into disclosing sensitive information such as name, address, phone number, password, Social Security number, and financial information.
In many phishing scams, a deceptive e-mail message directs victims to a deceptive Web site that has been established only to collect a user's personally identifiable information. This type of information can then be used for criminal activity such as identity theft.
To help detect and prevent personal data theft Microsoft has developed a multi-layered defense of dynamic technologies against phishing both in e-mail and with our browser technology to combat this challenge.
The first layer is at the source in e-mail with SmartScreen filtering and new warning features in Windows Live Mail, MSN Hotmail, Microsoft Office Outlook 2003/2007 and Microsoft Exchange server 2003 SP2 and 2007.
In cooperation with others in the industry, Microsoft is promoting e-mail authentication technologies such as the Sender ID Framework, which helps confirm whether a message is indeed coming from the sender it claims to. MSN and Windows Live Hotmail currently use Sender ID, and Exchange Server 2003 Service Pack 2 (SP2) and 2007 provide support for publishing and checking Sender ID records.
The second layer of protection against Phishing is the new innovative Microsoft Phishing Filter now in use by over 100 million users who have downloaded Internet Explorer 7 and the new Windows Live Toolbar.
The new version of Internet Explorer, still in beta but due for release soon, has some important privacy functions. InPrivate browsing in Internet Explorer 8 helps prevent the browsing history, temporary Internet files, form data, cookies, and usernames and passwords from being retained by the browser, leaving no evidence of your browsing or search history.
This article was written with the support of Microsoft Malta.